Dancing Around the Issue
by Tetra26
Summary: Murata asks a dejected Wolfram for a dance, which ends up being the catalyst for Wolfram to let go of Yuuri – as well as for Murata's feelings for Wolfram to start surfacing. Prequel to “The Admirer and the Sage” - either can be read first. Slight WxM


Dancing Around the Issue

by Tetra26 a.k.a Batty Gal

* * *

Summary: Murata asks a dejected Wolfram for a dance, which ends up being the catalyst for Wolfram to let go of Yuuri – as well as for Murata's feelings for Wolfram to start surfacing. Prequel to "The Admirer and the Sage" - either can be read first. Wolfram x Murata

* * *

Murata Ken looked at the spot where Wolfram von Bielefeld was sulking. The blond man's fiancé, Shibuya Yuuri, was dancing with a young female noble – and Wolfram didn't look pleased about it at all.

_'Why doesn't he just give up?'_ the Great Sage thought to himself. He was all too aware that Wolfram felt love for the Maou, but he couldn't understand why he continued to hang onto hope after all this time. _'There's plenty of men and women who'd be more than glad to have someone as wonderful as him, so why wait for the only one that won't go for him?'_

Murata realized what he had thought. _'I think Wolfram is wonderful? Wonderful. Am I attracted to him?'_

He let himself think about it, and realized that, more than anything, he was jealous of how devoted Wolfram's feelings for Yuuri were. He was surprised by his next thought.

_'Maybe I should make him feel that way about me instead?'_

Murata continued to stare at the dejected blond, his mind plotting and planning ways to get Wolfram to notice him.

* * *

_'Maybe I really should give up on Yuuri,'_ Wolfram thought as he watched the Maou dance in his awkward way with the young noblewoman. _'No matter how much I love him, I can't change, and __wouldn't__ change, that I'm a__ man and not a woman.'_

Engaged for five years and not even a kiss (other than the one that prankster, Shinou, caused). Nothing romantic, no "I love you", and definitely nothing sexual.

_'And no indication that he wants me in that way at all,'_ the fire demon thought, bitterly. He was beyond tired of feeling that way about someone who wouldn't, or couldn't, return his feelings. _'Maybe I need to find someone else?'_ he thought, and sighed out loud.

He was thinking so hard that he didn't notice that someone had approached him, and was surprised when a hand gently caressed his shoulder. He turned around, and found the Great Sage staring at him.

"Would you like to dance?" he asked, and smiled at Wolfram.

Wolfram was shocked. Of all the people in the ballroom, he would have never guessed that the Sage would ask him to dance. He'd sooner expect one of his brothers, or even Yuuri, to ask him to dance before the Sage. He narrowed his eyes in anticipation that it was some sort of joke the other man was trying to pull on him.

"You want to dance with me? Why?" he asked.

"Because I just do. Come on, it'll be fun!" Murata said, and before Wolfram could give him a definitive answer, he pulled him onto the dance floor.

* * *

Murata pulled the fire mazoku close, wrapping one arm around his waist. He entwined the fingers of his other hand with Wolfram's, and led him into the dance. Wolfram fell into step once he got over his initial shock, and before long they were in sync with each other.

It had been a while since Wolfram had danced with anyone, but his body easily remembered the steps. Murata was a much better dancer than Yuuri, and Wolfram supposed that it was because he was much more experienced.

As Wolfram continued to dance with the Sage, he noted the reactions around the room. Several people were openly shocked, and were looking back and forward between him and Yuuri, as if they expected something bad to happen. Both Gwendal and Gunter stood with a look of sheer confusion on their faces, which slightly amused him. Yozak looked at him, and winked. Conrad simply raised his eyebrow, and Wolfram shrugged at his brother to let him know he was just "going with it".

He willed himself to glance in Yuuri's direction. The Maou was giving him a questioning look, his head cocked to the side. It was then that Murata pulled him even closer, the hand of the arm wrapped around his waist traveling lower on his thigh.

Wolfram wanted to pull away from the Sage, but upon seeing how Yuuri's eyes had practically bugged out of his head, he changed his mind. _'Why not give him a taste of how it feels,'_ he thought bitterly, as he allowed himself to continue the dance.

* * *

Murata was surprised that Wolfram didn't pull away from his roaming hands. When he noticed the other man sizing up Yuuri's reaction, he realized that his dance partner simply wanted to make Yuuri jealous. He conceded defeat in his plot to get Wolfram to notice him instead of Yuuri, but decided to continue dancing with him anyhow for the fun of it.

He whispered in the other man's ear. "Is it alright like this," he asked, and felt him shiver. He was delighted at having made him do so.

"Ye.. yes," Wolfram stuttered out, which caused Murata to smile.

The orchestra changed to a rather seductive-sounding song, and Murata smiled even harder as another idea came to mind. He took his hand out of Wolfram's, wrapped both arms around him, and pulled him even closer.

"Wha.. what?!" Wolfram asked in a shocked voice, and attempted to pull away.

"Don't pull away," Murata pleaded. "This is another way that we dance on Earth, and I wanted to try it with you."

He watched Wolfram's apprehensive look fade, and felt relief as the other man relaxed again in his arms. _'Score,' _he thought, as he felt Wolfram's arms go around him in the same fashion.

* * *

Murata's luck continued. Each song afterward become more seductive and sexy, and he made a mental note to thank whoever it was that chose the songs this time around. As their dance continued, their arms moved from under each other's shoulder blades, to each other's mid-back, to the lower back, and finally rested on the side of each other's thighs, their fingertips barely touching each other's buttocks.

Both men had long become oblivious to the others in the room, each lost in the dance that seemed to last forever. Wolfram had long stopped giving a damn about Yuuri's reaction, and was simply enjoying himself with his dance partner. He closed his eyes and took in the feel of the other man in his arms, his cheek against his own, and the sweet scent that was unique only to the Sage.

Murata was doing the same, taking in Wolfram's scent and the feel of his hard body against his. He glanced down at the pale neck that was in front of him, and wanted nothing more than to press his lips against the smooth flesh.

After dancing cheek to cheek – and body to body – for several numbers, the men reluctantly pulled apart as the ball started to wind down. They stared at each other, their hands entwined.

"Thanks for the dance," Murata said.

"Thank you as well," Wolfram replied.

They looked at each other for a few lingering moments before finally letting each other's hands go. Murata gave a quick bow to Wolfram before turning away and walking off into the opposite direction. He glanced out of the side of his eye and noticed that several people, including Yuuri, Gwendal and Yozak, were staring at him. He was amused at their expressions of confusion, annoyance, and mirth.

_'They'll talk about this for months to come,'_ he thought as he exited the ballroom.

* * *

The next morning, Wolfram was summoned to the office of a very annoyed Gwendal.

"Just what were you _doing_?" Gwendal asked Wolfram, his face contorted in fury.

"What do you mean?" Wolfram asked innocently, though he knew exactly what his brother was referring to.

"What I mean is that... that... _thing_ you were doing on the dance floor with the Sage!" he exclaimed.

"Thing? We were simply dancing," Wolfram said.

"Simply dancing? _Simply_? In what world is that _simply_ dancing? You were practically about to go at it on the dance floor!"

Wolfram blushed brightly at his brother's accusations. The dance between him and Murata, while sensual, wasn't as exaggerated as Gwendal was making it out to be, in his opinion. "We were _not_!"

"Oh yes you were! And you know what else? That 'simply dancing' of yours and the Sage is the talk in all of Shin Makoku! Do you even know what they were saying last night and this morning?"

Wolfram had fully expected people to gossip, but he figured that it would blow over soon enough. He didn't feel that the gossip could be that bad, so he shrugged. "What were they saying, Gwendal?"

"They are saying that you and the Sage are having an affair. That you and the Sage are cheating on his Majesty with each other. This his Majesty is too incompetent to keep his own fiancé in line, let alone the country! This is too much!" Gwendal hissed.

"Oh, so the gossip all these years about _me_ being too incompetent to keep my fiancé in line was somehow alright, but now it's not because it makes _him _look bad? What about me? What about how _I_ looked to all those people all this time? If I could put up with it for five years constantly, then _surely_ Yuuri can put up with it for a _measly_ few weeks!"

Wolfram watched as Gwendal's mouth hung open at his scathing words. He knew his big brother had fully expected to lecture him, hear him grumble an apology, and promise not to do it again. However, Wolfram was too angry to play Gwendal's game just to get him to ease up off of him. He crossed his arms and glared at his brother, ready to be as defiant as he could be.

A knock on the door briefly interrupted what was setting up to be an epic squabble between the two brothers.

"Come in!" Gwendal called, without averting his eyes from Wolfram's. He returned the glare he was receiving in full force, and they were all but baring their teeth at each other like wild animals ready for the attack.

"What's the problem here?" the newcomer, Conrad, asked in an alarmed voice.

"The problem is that dance between Wolfram and the Great Sage last night," Gwendal gritted out.

"No, the problem is that Gwendal thinks that Yuuri can't handle a little gossip, unlike me," Wolfram spat.

"Oh, this is about that... dance..." Conrad trailed off.

"See, even _he_ thinks that it was troublesome!"

"The _Hell_ he does! It was a dance, that's what people do at a Ball!"

"They don't dance in that fashion!"

"The Sage said that's how they do it on Earth!"

"This isn't Earth, it's Shin Makoku!"

"Well, if you thought it was that bad, then why didn't you stop it?!"

"Because doing so would have caused an even bigger scandal!"

"Oh, you couldn't come out there and tap me on the shoulder and interrupt? Or send someone else to dance with either of us? Or were you too cowardly to do so?"

"Now see here young man!"

"You two, settle down!" Conrad said, and stood between them before things got entirely out of hand.

"Alright, be the voice of reason here," Gwendal said to Conrad. "Tell your brother that what he did with the Sage last night was unacceptable!"

"I don't need either of my brothers to tell me what is and isn't acceptable! If you act like this over a _mere_ dance, imagine how you'll react when I sleep with the man!"

It was a slip of the tongue. Wolfram meant to say 'if', not 'when', and was horrified at what had come out. Yet before he could correct himself to Gwendal, the other man hit the roof.

"When you sleep with him? When you sleep with him!" Gwendal shrieked, going into an hysteria that could rival Günter's.

"I meant..." Wolfram started but was interrupted.

"So there _is_ something between you and the Sage? You have started a relationship with someone else while engaged to the Maou?"

"Gwendal, it was a slip..."

"A slip of what? A slip in telling the truth of your secret affair with his Highness?!"

"No, what I was trying to say..."

"No! I don't want to hear it. And to think you are always getting on his Majesty about cheating, and you're the one that's the cheater!"

Gwendal wouldn't let Wolfram get a word in edgewise, and the fire mazoku was desperately trying to let him know that it was a simple mistake in words. He attempted to try one more time, but Gwendal's next words to him chilled him to the core.

"You do realize the punishment for cheating on the Maou, don't you? Even if your relationship with the Sage hasn't become physical, you would still be punished. I won't save you from it!"

The anger, the shock, the hurt, and the stress of five years of unrequited love came forth the moment Wolfram took in Gwendal's words.

"I was trying to tell you that I meant to say "if", not 'when'," Wolfram said in a low and unfamiliar voice. "But would you listen to me? No. Do you care about me? No. Do you even give a _damn _abouthow I feel? No."

The younger man inched towards Gwendal, and pushed Conrad out of the way. He got in the other man's face, and pointed at his chest.

"There. Is. Nothing. Going. On. Between. Me. And. The. Sage," he said, poking his brother in the chest for emphasis after every word. He glared up at his brother, who's fury had turned to confusion. "Even if it were, it's not like Yuuri would give a damn anyhow considering that _he_ doesn't love _me_."

Gwendal was about to interrupt, but watching as his brother's face shifted from anger, to sadness, and finally to defeat prevented him from doing so.

"I'm tired," Wolfram said in a weary voice. "I'm so very tired," he said again, and hung his head.

"Wolfram," Conrad said as he pulled his brother close to him.

The younger man didn't even object as his brother wrapped his arms around his waist and hugged him from behind.

"I'm sorry, Wolfram," Gwendal said, quietly. "I shouldn't have went that far..."

"It's alright, Gwendal, I'll be fine," the blond said with a sigh. "You're right. The dance; it was too much. I only wanted to make him jealous, but things got out of hand and I simply lost myself in it. I guess it was the nice feeling of someone paying attention to me, for once."

"Wolfram..." Gwendal started, his voice cracking.

"But all of this has to end," Wolfram said. "When Yuuri comes back, I'll break my engagement... this time for good."

* * *

Wolfram kept true to his word.

The next time Yuuri returned to Shin Makoku, Wolfram was there to greet him.

Before Yuuri could get a word out edgewise, Wolfram walked up to him – and backhanded him across the right cheek.

"I reject you," he said with a sad smile, before turning to walk away.

As a shocked Yuuri was given an explanation to by an equally shocked Günter over what had just happened, Murata watched in pity as the fire demon retreated.

He ignored his gut instinct to follow and lend a helping shoulder.

* * *

Author's note: Well, that's oneshot one of three that's planned.


End file.
